The universe of micro-brands is largely composed of fledgling companies that very often draw inspiration from the past. The case of Fears is a story in itself. Founded in 1846 by Edwin Fear, and closed in 1976 due to the 'quartz crisis', the brand was one of the largest British watch manufacturers. In 2016, after exactly 40 years of inactivity, the founder's great-grandson, Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, set out to revive the brand and immediately set his sights on the vast - and valuable - historical archive that had fortunately not been lost. The current catalogue revolves around the Brunswick, a cushion-case solotempo, available in steel, gold or platinum. The Brunswick takes its name from the square in Bristol where the company had its historic headquarters and uses a 38 mm case with a transparent back, white, blue or salmon dial, applied hour markers and skeleton hands. It is powered by the hand-wound ETA 7001 calibre with 21,600 vibrations per hour, 17 jewels and 42 hours of power reserve. It is on sale from £2,850 to £3,350, depending on the colour. The yellow gold version (called 'Midas') has a white (£3,950) or silver (£4,250) dial, while the platinum version (£28,200) has an anthracite dial. The story of the reborn Fears would convince even the most sceptical of the existence of destiny. Long before he knew that his ancestors had founded a major company in the industry, in fact, Nicholas Bowman-Scargill had begun working as a technician at Rolex headquarters in London. At that time, he learned about the family business and began to dream of reopening it. A goal achieved in 2016 and still pursued even at the cost of working as a supermarket delivery boy to get through the difficult period of the 2020 lockdown.
